Sunday, October 18, 2015

Beyond What is Given Book Blog Tour!!

Okay, so I apparently suck. I signed up for the Tasty Virtual Blog Tour for Beyond What Is Given but I didn't realize my post hadn't been released until two days later. 

Sorry, Rebecca!!! 







But I'll make it up to you by spreading my review across the World Wide Web :)

I just want to let everyone know that this has nothing to do with the quality of the book. It's just I'm a total and complete space case at the moment who's been lacking sleep and coffee IVs. Now after sleeping for almost 12 hours straight, I'm here now (better late than never, right?) and I can finally tell you all about Rebecca Yarros' newest book, Beyond What is Given. 

*Cue original post which caution, contains lots of fangirling.*

The day has finally come on my stop on the Tasty Blog Tour. You have no idea how hard it was to keep from wanting to post this as soon as I finished reading it, but I made a promise not to release until today and so (somehow) I managed to keep it. Now I can talk your ear off and gush to my heart's content all about this book. Might want to sit back and grab a cup of something. This may take a while. 

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review and that's exactly what you're going to get. But first things first, lets get you updated on what I'm talking about before I start talking like I'm crazy (well crazier).



BEYOND WHAT IS GIVEN
Flight & Glory #3
Rebecca Yarros
Releasing Sept 28th, 2015
Entangled Embrace



Beyond What is Given, which released last month, is the third book in the Flight and Glory Series. It stars one of our Fly Boys who we don't really know about, Grayson Masters, and gives a perspective about him that reveals his actions and attitude in the second book, Eyes Turned Skyward. Not only that, we see another side of one of my favorites, Sam Fitzgerald, and their interactions together which I can't even begin to paint well enough so why don't you just read the blurb.

BLURB
Lt. Grayson Masters is focused on graduating the Apache helicopter course, and the last thing he needs is his gorgeous new roommate Samantha Fitzgerald distracting him. While her smart mouth and free spirit are irresistibly irritating, he can’t deny their off-the-charts chemistry, no matter how hard he tries.  Having just been expelled from college, Sam has no business digging for Grayson’s secrets while she’s hiding her own, but that doesn’t stop her from trying to tear down his walls. Each barrier she busts through drops one of her own, though, and she’s not prepared for the truth: another woman laid claim to Grayson’s heart long ago.  Falling in love is something neither Grayson nor Sam can afford, and when that line is crossed and secrets are exposed, they’ll learn that sometimes it’s the answered prayers that will put you through hell.

MY REVIEW
Done reading? Good. Now... *inhales deep breath and...* OMG!!!!!!!! (would've added more exclamation points but I didn't want to break my keyboard button, lol) Can I just say that this book is blow-your-mind, turn-you-inside-out, make-you-want-to-slap-anyone, it's so amazing. This is one of the few books where I've been satisfied from beginning to end. Now I'm a very picky reader and I don't care if the majority of the book is amazing, if the ending isn't up to par, then it ruins the entire experience for me. But Beyond What is Given left me with a smile on my face and an aww in my heart. I even told Rebecca so the day after I finished it. I left her a message, telling her how beautiful and heartfelt this book was. First time I ever reached out to an author personally to tell them how much I loved their book. That's the kind of book this is and was for me.

Now let's talk characters. It was nice to see the entire gang again and they're wonderful and all but I'm on a mission to dish about a particular character.

Grayson - Yum and.... yup I think that about covers it. He's just so absolutely amazing. He had his issues, of course, but no one's perfect. But ultimately he made up for those shortcomings a million times fold after breaking free of his past which a lot of people aren't able to do. And in that, he was able to truly love Sam the way she needed and deserved. His and Sam's interactions and blooming love had its funny moments, its hot moments, its sweet-as-a-cavity moments, its really hot moments, inspirational moments and did I mention its sizzling, call-the-fire-department-because-something-must-be-on-fire moments? Because it was all there in the most perfect of perfect ways. I absolutely loved that Grayson personality and that he couldn't lie and that he had no filters. My absolute two favorite lines that resonated with me even now is when Grayson saw something was wrong with Sam and he was like "Are you okay? Is your mom okay? Do you need me to kill someone?" He just spoke the words without thought, even after living together for not that long. He was already smitten. The other line was when Grayson said, "So go ahead and fall. I've gotten really good at catching you." At that moment I was like...


and



All I can say is that Sam is a very lucky girl. If Grayson was real, well she'd have a fight on her hands. But on the other hand, Sam is perfect for him so I might just allow her to stay with him (pssh, lol). 

Sam was another amazing character in that she worked hard to get her life back on track and because she had someone like Grayson pushing her to do better, she grew a lot compared to when she was first introduced in the first novel, Full Measures.

I really loved this couple. They're my favorite of the series which is a hard choice to make as Josh-Ember and Jagger-Paisley were absolutely amazing. But I'm glad it is like that in that it shows that Rebecca Yarros' writing gets better and better with each book. I applaud her on this amazing series and can't wait to read the next book, Hallowed Ground, which centers on Josh and Ember again and comes out in a few months. Until then, I will have to some how keep myself busy so I won't think about how much time is left. I might even re-read the series because these books are the kind that you can't be satisfied with one read through. 

Here's an excerpt so you'll understand why...

Excerpt 
I shrieked as the mixer whirred a shrill pitch and batter exploded, hitting the walls, the cabinets, my face...everything. I sputtered as some landed in my mouth, and slammed my hand against the lever to turn it off. 

This was going to be a bitch to clean up. 

“Are you okay?” Grayson ran in, hair damp from the shower. His eyes widened as he took in the state of his precious kitchen. “You weren’t kidding about the mess.” 

“Oh this?” I smiled. “It’s a new aeration technique. I totally meant to do this.” My awesome excuse died as a glob of brownie mix fell off the tip of my nose. 

“Is that so?” he asked, walking over to me slowly, consuming my vision. My breath hitched as he swiped his finger across my cheek, and then licked the brownie mix off the digit. Holy hot. “Hmm... I think there’s something to be said for this method. Maybe a little more air in the batter?” 

My mouth popped open. “Are you making fun of me?”

He smirked, which must have had a direct link to my panties, because they unanimously voted to drop. Now. There was sexy, and there was Grayson’s tongue sweeping across his lower lip, which was a step beyond hedonistic. His eyes took on a mischievous glint but kept the same signature intensity that held me captive, unable to look anywhere else as he lowered his face toward mine. What...what was he doing? 

Do you even care? Nope. Not one bit. 

“Maybe another taste to be sure?” he asked, his voice low as his lips skimmed across my jawline.

“Mmm. Definitely more.” Shivers coursed down my body. Holy shit. His mouth was actually on me, and I was awake.

He flipped the switch on the mixer and chocolate flew. 

“You did not!” I let my knees buckle so I slipped to the floor, leaving Grayson to be splattered by the flying confection. 

“I most certainly did!” He lifted me up like I weighed nothing, and batter smacked the back of my tank top. “Man, you’re slippery.” He mock-dropped me. 

I yelped, locking my ankles around his waist and my hands around his neck. He turned off the mixer and chuckled low in his throat. “You can laugh?” I asked, yanking my head back to look at him. 

“I have been known to on occasion,” he answered, that stupid, crazy-sexy smirk in play despite the chocolate on his cheeks and forehead. How the hell could someone look so hot while literally dripping brownie batter? 

“I like it,” I admitted. 

His smirk disappeared, and his grip tightened on my bare thighs as his gaze dropped to my lips. They parted as if he’d freaking asked them to. We weren’t just stepping out of the friend-zone here, we were on a damn missile into let- me-jump-you-ville. 

“I do, too,” he whispered. 


Don't forget to order your copy today and enter below for a chance to win a Kindle Fire HD7 (US & INT).


BUY NOW





Rebecca Yarros is a hopeless romantic and lover of all things chocolate, coffee, and Paleo. In addition to being a mom, military wife, and blogger, she can never choose between Young Adult and New Adult fiction, so she writes both. She's a graduate of Troy University, where she studied European history and English, but still holds out hope for an acceptance letter to Hogwarts. Her blog, The Only Girl Among Boys, has been voted the Top Military Mom Blog the last two years, and celebrates the complex issues surrounding the military life she adores.

When she's not writing, she's tying on hockey skates for her kids, or sneaking in some guitar time. She is madly in love with her army-aviator husband of eleven years, and they're currently stationed in Upstate NY with their gaggle of rambunctious kiddos and snoring English Bulldog, but she would always rather be home in Colorado.



Sunday, October 11, 2015

Beyond the Wail Blog Tour: Interview with Alex McGilvery



Welcome to the next stop on the Beyond the Wail Blog tour. In honor of these 12 Grave Stories of Love and Loss which released yesterday, today I will present to you this amazing anthology and one of its featured authors, Alex McGilvery.


About Beyond the Wail: 12 Grave Stories of Love and Loss


What is it about fear and the unknown that pulls so passionately at the human heart? Perhaps we are drawn not to the darkness itself, but to the resolution, the overcoming of what we most deeply dread. After all, the more terrible the struggle, the greater the victory when it comes at last. Presented in this anthology are twelve remarkable stories of the darkness that overshadows us, and the resolution that may be found beyond them. They are stories of fear and oppression, but ultimately stories of hope, stories that will take you BEYOND THE WAIL.





This is one amazing group of authors and I'm not being biased just because I'm one of them. Though each story is different and unique in its own way, they all share a wonderful depth to them and I enjoyed it from start to finish. 


Now I give you an insider's peek about Alex McGilvery, author of St. Peter's Fish. 


ST. PETER’S FISH- Sam is a walking disaster of biblical proportions, but how much is he willing to sacrifice to escape, and will the Powers That Be allow it? 


About Alex McGilvery:




Alex McGilvery is an author living in Flin Flon, Manitoba with his wife, Alex, and three dogs. He has been an avid reader all his life and wrote novels in his early teens. He has been writing short stories and poetry ever since. In addition to his first twenty-year work, he writes a novel every year through NaNoWriMo and another with the 3-Day Novel contest. He also writes reviews, specializing in indie authors, and works on short stories for contests.
He has now published five books, most recently Sparkles and Blood, a collection of horror novellas, edited an anthology along with the Flin Flon Writers Guild, and continues to be active in the Guild. In order to pay for his writing habit, Alex works full time as a minister in the United Church of Canada. Some of his parishioners wonder at the occasionally dark and twisted nature of his writing.

How did you come up with the title? 
The fish in the story burps up gold coins. It is a direct reference to a fish Peter caught to pay taxes. 

What was the most surprising part of writing this book? 
The fork. I had no idea that blasted fork was going to show up and confuse everyone. In the end I like the concept. 

What is your preferred writing genre?  
I don’t write heavy romance or hack and slash horror. Other than that I think I have stories at least in just about every genre imaginable, and a few you’d probably never think of.

How does writing impact other parts of your life?  
Sometimes people who hear my more twisted stories worry about my mental health. 

How do you unwind?  
When I’m not writing, I like shooting pictures with my camera. I’ve been planning to make a few more knives for my collection, but it will wait until warmer weather now.

What is your advice to writers? 
Write. Really. You aren’t a writer if you don’t write. Then find someone to help you deconstruct your writing to help you make it better. Then write some more.

Is there anything else you'd like your readers to know about you? 
My wife is named Alex, same as me. My first published book was written as a gift for her. She is in some way the inspiration for all my stories, but she doesn’t read them. She makes me read out loud, usually in the middle of the night.

Now for the lighter stuff:


Star Wars or Star Trek? 

As a kid, we watched Star Trek every week, but I don’t have a strong preference.

Hunger Games or Divergent? 

Neither

James Bond or Jack Ryan? 

Graham Greene’s Our Man in Havana

Sherlock: Robert Downey, Jr. or Benedict Cumberbatch?   

Not a Holmes fan.

Spock: Leonard Nimoy or Zachary Quinto?   

As an old fart, Nimoy.

Vampires or Werewolves?  

Carnivorous Frogs

To learn more about him or read some of his other works, visit:



http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00GTQYDJS


Don't forget to order now:




Also, check below for the awesome trailer, giveaway and the featured author for tomorrow's next stop on the tour.



Book Release Blog Tour

Featured Author: Danielle E. Shipley

Danielle E. Shipley

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Are you Afraid of the Dark? 
John's Writing
Spreading the Writer's Word

Featured Author: Alex McGilvery

Alex McGilvery

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Ash Krafton: Emotion Between the Lines
Scott E. Tarbet, Author 
Writer's Law of Motion

Featured Author: T.N. PAYNE

Nicole Payne

Monday, October 12, 2015

Melissa McShane
Author Sarah's Secret Stash 
Notes from Author Ginger C. Mann

Featured Author: Ginger C. Mann

Ginger C. Mann  

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

 L.K. McIntosh
J S Brown
Fairies & Pirates

Featured Author: L.K. McIntosh

L.K. McIntosh 

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Rampant Games
Scotty Watty Doodle All The Day
Terra Luft — View From the Crystal Ball

Featured Author: Jay Barnson

Jay Barnson 

Thursday, October 15, 2015

A Storyteller's Journey
Creativity from Chaos
Christine Haggerty

Featured Author: A. F. Stewart

A. F. Stewart

Friday, October 16, 2015

Tales by Julie
Perpetual Chaos of a Wandering Mind
Anna Winter

Featured Author: Amanda Banker

Amanda Banker

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Sebastian Bendix
Alex Campbell
Semi Short chic

Featured Author: Julie Barnson

Julie Barnson

Sunday, October 18, 2015

The Ink Caster
The Road to Nowhere

Featured Author: Sebastian Bendix

Sebastian Bendix

Monday, October 19, 2015

The J. Aurel Guay Archive 
:DandiFluff...

Featured Author: Tirzah Duncan

Tirzah Duncan

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Alex McGilvery's World
A.M.Harte

Featured Author: F.M. Longo

F.M. Longo

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Ever On Word 
The Cult of Me